Friday, November 30, 2018

Google Hangouts for consumers may be shutting down in 2020

hangouts

Google Hangouts is not the darling child it once was. Released back in 2013, it was a favorite among Android users. The SMS integration was very popular as it allowed users to have all their messaging in one app. Unfortunately, Hangouts has slowly been left by the wayside. A new report claims Hangouts for consumers will be totally shut down by 2020.

According to sources at 9to5Google, Hangouts for consumers will be shut down sometime in 2020. This upcoming year will be the last of Hangout’s life. This comes as no surprise to many. Google has mostly forgotten about Hangouts in favor of newer messaging apps. Many have likely already ditched the app, but I know there are still some who use it daily.

Hangouts’ lifespan was a quick climb to the top followed by a slow fall to the bottom. For a brief time, it was considered the holy grail of messaging apps by some. In 2016 it was cast aside for Allo. Google split the app into two products for G Suite: Meet and Chat. Now, Allo has been abandoned in favor of Android Messages. Google’s messaging approach has always been a mess and this is just the latest entry.

Google’s many attempts at messaging apps has become a running joke in the tech community. The company just doesn’t seem to know what they want to do. Allo was a very confusing product launch and it barely made it two years before being demoted. Android Messages is their latest attempt and it hopes to use RCS to be a universal app across platforms. We’ll have to wait and see if Google can finally get it right.

Messages (Free, Google Play) →

Source: 9to5Google

How to install Android Pie on the Motorola Moto X4

If you own the retail version of the Moto X4 you can install the Android Pie update even though your bootloader is locked and/or blocked. I repeat, this tutorial is only for the retail version of the Moto X4 and will not work on the Android One or Amazon versions even if you have installed other systems on it. This specific guide is only for the retail version of the device. So, if you have one of these devices then you’ll be happy to hear that XDA Senior Member CypherPotato has put together a tutorial to get stock Android Pie running on your device.

As of right now, this guide has been tested on the following devices and it has worked on all of them.

However, tests have shown that this specific guide does not currently work on the XT1900-2 model. There are also some requirements that you will need to have set up ahead of time, which include:

  • An SD card with at least 2GB of storage
  • Making sure the Moto X4 battery is charged above 80%
  • ADB + Fastboot installed (and it’s best to make sure you can access the device before you begin this process)
  • And finally, have the latest Motorola Drivers installed on your computer

Just be sure that you read the full original post of this thread as there are different steps depending on if you are on a retail Android 8.0 device as opposed to a retail Android 8.1 device.

Check out this tutorial in our Moto X4 forum

Xiaomi Mi A2 kernel source code for the Android Pie update is now available

Xiaomi Mi A2 Android Pie

Earlier this year, Xiaomi released two Android One smartphones side-by-side. The Mi A2 and the Mi A2 Lite were both officially revealed in July and they were equipped with the Snapdragon 660 and Snapdragon 625 SoCs respectively. This gave the customer a choice when determining how much money they wanted to spend on a brand new Android One smartphone from Xiaomi. A month later the company released the kernel source code for both of these devices to help spark developer community support.

Xiaomi Mi A2 XDA Forum

This kernel source code was for Android Oreo though as that was the software which launched on these two devices. This month we have reported on both the Mi A2 and the Mi A2 Lite receiving an update to Android Pie, so this left developers wondering how long it would take for new kernel sources to be released. Today, we can officially state that developers can now grab the kernel source code for Android Pie on the Xiaomi Mi A2 directly from GitHub. Hit the link below to get the kernel source code.

Source: Xiaomi

Google will reduce the volume of the end call beep after many user requests

google phone beep volume

There are many versions of Android that some members of the community refer to as “stock Android.” Some believe that stock Android is the vanilla Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code that Google releases to the public. Others think stock Android is anything that looks like AOSP (no matter what OEM it comes from). In any case, Google definitely adds a number of features and optimizations to the core AOSP code base and one that has been quite annoying is the beep that plays after the end of a phone call. Interestingly, this seems to be a feature but thankfully a representative at Google says they will reduce the volume of the beep in a future update.

If you remember back to late last year, we had a number of complaints from members of the community hearing a loud beep when they ended a phone call. As it turns out, in that instance it had something to do with the Snapchat application and its permission to the Phone. To fix that bug all you had to do disable the Phone permission from the Snapchat application and that would resolve it. So when Pixel 2 and Pixel 3 owners began noticing a similar issue, they had a bunch of people reminding them about this particular bug.

It’s interesting because there are people saying they haven’t ever had Snapchat installed on their phone yet they still had the issue. One person even said that disabling the Microphone permission from the Signal private messenger app fixed the issue, but it reappeared the next day. As mentioned though, Google considers this a feature as they have acknowledged the issue and promised a “softer end call tone” in an “upcoming release” of their Pixel software. We are also being told that the end call tone will be silenced altogether if the user has the device in “silent mode.”

Many people in the bug report thread are asking for a toggle to let the user enable or disable this feature without the need of putting the entire phone in silent mode, but so far they have not acknowledged any of those requests.

Source: Google Issue Tracker

Google Camera Mods now have their own Forum

Google Camera

It’s no secret that Google’s post-processing camera algorithms are among the best in the business. That’s why, for the past 3 years, Google Pixel devices have been consistently rated in the top tier of smartphone cameras in the industry. Google’s HDR+, Portrait Mode, Night Sight, and other Google Camera features are just some of the most coveted camera features among our readers. Ports of the Google Camera app have drawn in hundreds of thousands of users to our forums, and to consolidate discussion and development of these ports we have now opened up a dedicated forum.

About a year ago, a Ukranian developer by the name of B-S-G managed to port the Google Camera app with HDR+ intact to other smartphones with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 and newer SoCs with the Hexagon 680 ISP. This kicked off the craze of Google Camera ports which has only grown since the first port thanks to the incredible new features that Google keeps adding to the app. The ported app can make a night and day difference on some devices like the OnePlus 3/3T, Essential Phone, and many budget and mid-range Xiaomi devices.

There are now so many different device-specific ports across so many different XDA device forums that it’s hard to find the latest port for your own device. We have set up a Google Camera Port Hub to help with that, but it doesn’t help the developers who are posting their work on dozens of different forums. That’s why we have opened up a new Google Camera Mods subforum inside the XDA Community Apps forum. This way, you can keep track of new and updated ports for various devices simply by visiting this forum. To keep the forums free from clutter, we have decided to only allow recognized Google Camera modders and/or their chosen representatives to create new threads. You can still comment on these threads, but you can’t make a new forum post unless you’re an approved submitter. So far, the users that have been whitelisted are fu24, idan1109, defcomg, miniuser123, arnova8g2, SKULSHADY, Urnyx05, bsg19071979, Charles_l, cstark27, and S4turno.

Join the new Google Camera Mods Forum

Paid apps now available in the Play Store in Georgia and Myanmar

google play Georgia Myanmar

The Google Play Store is arguably the only reliable source for downloading apps on the Android platform. Google’s own market is built into the system of most phones and offers over 2.6 million apps. Unfortunately, the contents of the market isn’t the same in every country. Both the developers and Google regulate the availability of applications in different places of the world. My home country of Georgia is one of the greatest examples. Historically, we didn’t have an access to paid applications or free apps with in-app purchases. Thankfully, the search giant is hard at work trying to make the Play Store somewhat available everywhere. Starting today, paid apps on Play Store are available in Georgia and Myanmar.

AndroidPolice noticed the addition of those two countries in the Play Store developer console documentation. Prices of the paid apps and IAPs in Georgia can range from 2₾ (~$0.75) to 1,100₾ (~$411). Prices in Myanmar will range from MMK 1500 (~$0.95) to 620,000 (~$391). In addition, users from Paraguay and Serbia can now buy apps from the Play Store with their local currency.

The addition of two new countries will open up new opportunities for users and developers alike. I can say for sure that piracy on the Android platform is big in Georgia because it’s not that easy to purchase apps and support the developers. Bringing paid apps to countries like Georgia will encourage users to pay for applications and download them from a reliable source rather than shady APK websites. In return, developers will see at least a minimal impact of the sales performance on their applications. To put it short, it’s a win/win situation for users, developers, and Google itself.

Source: Google Via: AndroidPolice

Prep to Earn Valuable Cisco Networking Certifications with This Bundle

When it comes to networking and IT, Cisco reigns supreme. Used by many of today’s top companies, Cisco networks act as the driving force behind communications both within and between complex data infrastructures.

The Ultimate Cisco Certification Super Bundle will give you the skills and training you need to earn Cisco’s most valuable certifications, so you can land the most lucrative jobs in tech, and lifetime access to the entire bundle is available for over 95% off at just $49.

Whether you’re beginning or furthering a career in tech, this bundle will help you score more exciting and high-paying positions in the field.

Each of the nine sections in this bundle prepares you for a specific Cisco certification exam, and you’ll have plenty of resources to ensure that you don’t fall behind.

You’ll learn how to connect and troubleshoot complex networks, install advanced security parameters, maintain wireless networks, implement Cisco collaboration devices, install wide-reaching video and IP networks, and much more.

Earn the certifications you need to land the most lucrative careers in IT with the Ultimate Cisco Certification Super Bundle. The collection was on sale for $59, but the price has now dropped to only $49, more than 95% off the MSRP.

 
Ultimate Cisco Certification Super Bundle: Lifetime Access – $49

See Deal

Android Auto gets revamped media controls, message previewing, and support for MMS/RCS

OpenAuto android auto

Android Auto is one of the best car head unit systems available today, though it still has a lot of issues and missing features. Its premise is simple: mirror information from your phone onto a display on your dashboard. While, of course, it has the potential to be distracting, it’s designed in a way that it has minimal impact on your ability to drive. There are application restrictions, and only applications that have been whitelisted by Google can actively show on it. It’s useful, more than anything, for controlling your music or looking at Google Maps. Google has announced revamped media controls, message previewing, and support for MMS and RCS.

The improved layout focuses on providing larger album art and bigger text so you can spend less time trying to choose a song and instead focus on driving. On top of that, the Google Assistant‘s integration has been improved so that you can be a little bit vaguer in your song requests.

Google also added message previewing so that you can see snippets of messages you’ve received on your smartphone. They’ll only pop up when your car is stopped, so you don’t need to worry about getting distracted while driving. It’s entirely optional as well, so if you’d rather not have messages coming through on the car’s dash while other people are in the car, you can switch it off.

And with that added message support, the latest update to Android Auto also brings support for MMS messages (used for group chats) and RCS. That opens up a whole new world of available options to you if you are interested in using your Android Auto for communication.

You can download the latest version of the Android Auto application below!

Android Auto - Google Maps, Media & Messaging (Free, Google Play) →

Source: Google

Samsung lists new features coming to Galaxy phones in 2019

samsung android oreo android 8.1 oreo

Samsung is the largest Android OEM in the world which means they have a lot of users. All of these users have features they want to request or improvements to recommend. Samsung looks over their Samsung Members community forums for the best new features to think about adding to their devices. Today, Samsung posted a list of all the updates they will be adding or have already added. This information can be found in the Samsung Members forums.

Improvements in place

AR Emoji

  • We added more bald female AR Emoji characters for the Galaxy S9 and Note 9.

Calendar

  • We added a feature that shows ”Highlight events” in monthly view for v4.2.14.3.

Second half of 2018

Calendar

  • We’ll provide an option to use a Korean lunar calendar, Chinese lunar calendar, Shamsi calendar, or Hijri calendar on models updated to Android Pie.
  • We’ll provide an option that you can use to filter past incoming/outgoing calls on models updated to Android Pie.
  • When you tap “Call History” for a saved phone number, the number will be displayed in expanded view on models updated to Android Pie.

Camera

  • We’ll provide a “Selfie focus” mode on the Galaxy A series model released in the second half of 2018.

Clock

  • We’ll provide color and background transparency settings for the Clock widget on models updated to Android Pie.

Gallery

  • We’ll provide an option to organize albums in folders in Gallery on models updated to Android Pie

Internet

  • You’ll be able to use the S Pen to scroll up and down on websites.

Keyboard

  • You will be able to tap and hold down the number keys, and then enter Western Arabic numerals on models updated to Android Pie.
  • We’ll provide an Emoji search option on models updated to Android Pie.

Messages

  • Phone numbers will be displayed on the screen where you write a text message on models updated to Android Pie.

Reminder

  • You will be able to add vehicle information when you pick a place in Reminder on models updated to Android Pie

Video Editor

  • We’ll provide a HEIF (High-Efficiency Image File Format) option on models updated to Android Pie

First half of 2019

Good Lock

  • We plan to add an option that will allow you to selectively set Sound, Vibrate, or Mute mode when using Routines
  • The speed will remain constant when you move the bar at the top up and down while using Blur Effect in QuickStar

Second half 2019

Samsung Notes

  • We’ll support background settings for Samsung Notes
  • You’ll be able to zoom in and out of notes you are writing in Handwriting mode.

Everything listed above should roll out to most Samsung phones within their software life or with One UI based on Android Pie. One UI is rolling out to the Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, and Galaxy Note 9 in mid-January 2019. If you have a Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9+, you can install the One UI beta right now by following our guide.

ASUS ROG Phone launches in India with an overclocked Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 and 90Hz display

Gaming phones are an upcoming breed of smartphones that pack in top-of-the-line specifications in order to lure the crowd looking for serious performance. Even if you are not a gamer, these smartphones give you future-proof hardware as they go overkill on their features. If you’re looking to pick up a gaming phone in India, ASUS has now launched the ASUS ROG Phone in the country, giving premium users another choice in the high-end category.

ASUS ROG Phone – Specifications at a Glance!

Specs ASUS ROG Phone
SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 @ 2.96GHz; Adreno 630 GPU
RAM LPDDR4X;
8GB
Camera Rear: 12MP + 8MP (120° wide-angle lens)

Front: 8MP
Storage UFS 2.1;
128GB or 512GB
Display 6″; 2160×1080 AMOLED @ 90Hz, 1ms response time and HDR support
Speakers Dual front-facing speakers, quad front-facing with TwinView Dock
Battery 4,000 mAh supporting Qualcomm QuickCharge 4.0 and ASUS HyperCharge;

10,000 mAh with TwinView Dock
Ports 3.5mm headphone jack, three USB-C ports
Connectivity CAT 16 LTE, 60GHz 802.11ad Wi-Fi
Peripherals AeroActive Cooler, Mobile Desktop Dock, TwinView Dock

Not only does the ASUS ROG phone come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC, it comes with the fastest speed-binned Snapdragon 845, overclocked to an impressive 2.96GHz. Coupled with the Adreno 630 GPU, the ROG GameCool vapor-chamber cooling, and detachable AeroActive cooler, you can get up to five times the duration for peak performance.

The phone also features a design that reminds everyone that this is a gaming phone. You get Corning Gorilla Glass 6 on the front and Gorilla Glass 5 on the back, along with the ROG Aura Lighting Logo, as well as IPX4 splash resistance. The phone also sports three programmable ultrasonic AirTriggers – on the left-bottom and right-bottom edges when held in portrait orientation, and top-left and top-right edges when held in landscape orientation. AirTriggers are much like squeeze gestures, and the ASUS ROG allows users to set the level of pressure needed to register a touch, so you don’t actually need to apply a lot of pressure. You can move around where the corresponding touch (on your screen) lands, thus allowing you to map AirTriggers like shoulder buttons on a gamepad.

Accessories

With two side-mounted USB Type-C ports (and an additional Type-C port which is conventionally placed at the bottom of the device), the ROG Phone can utilize a range of optional accessories in order to further enhance the gaming experience.

AeroActive Cooler

The AeroActive Cooler allows you to cool the device for sustained peak performance while gaming.

TwinView Dock

The TwinView Dock accessory turns the ROG Phone into a dual-screen console for gaming and simultaneous live-streaming. The Dock packs in a 6″ AMOLED auxiliary display, a front-facing quad-speaker system, two extra physical trigger buttons, dual-haptic force-feedback engine, an enhanced cooling system and a high-capacity 6,000 mAh extended battery pack.

Mobile Desktop Dock

The Mobile Desktop Dock allows the ROG Phone to be connected to an external 4K UHD monitor, mouse and keyboard. The Phone can be used as an auxiliary display, hooked up to a wired gigabit LAN and can drive a 5.1-channel surround sound system via the SP/DIF output.

GameVice Joystick

The GameVice Controller morphs the ROG Phone into a portable console. It adds in dual analog joysticks, left and right fire triggers and bumpers, a D-pad, as well as A, B, X, Y, and L3, R3 buttons.

The ROG Phone Case also deserves a mention, as it not only serves as drop protection for your device, it is also “modular” in design. The back plate of the case can be removed to attach the AeroActive cooler.

Pricing and Availability – India

The ASUS ROG Phone is available for ₹69,999 ($1,000) exclusively on Flipkart. Asus does realize that the cost is prohibitive, so there is a special no-cost EMI option with tenure options of 6, 9 or 12 months for all debit and credit cards. Under the scheme, the ROG Phone will be available for purchase by paying an EMI starting at ₹5,833 per month for 12 months, which makes the device accessible for many more users.

The GameVice Controller is available for ₹5,999, the TwinView Dock is available for ₹21,999, the Mobile Desktop Dock is available for ₹12,999 and the ROG Phone Case is is available for ₹2,499.

Flipkart is offering the Complete Mobile Protection plan, which includes complete device repair as well as theft insurance, along with doorstep pickup and return, worth ₹5,999 for just ₹999 for the ROG Phone.

Source: Flipkart Visit our ASUS ROG Phone forums!

OPPO may announce a foldable smartphone in 3 months

Oppo F9

2018 will be remembered as the year when smartphone manufacturers began to push the boundaries of bezel-less designs. We’ve seen display notches, sliders, and we’re about to get display holes. Each of these design decisions allows for smartphones to have higher screen-to-body ratios while still maintaining a manageable footprint. But there’s still a clear difference between smartphones and tablets, and phablets just aren’t large enough for some people’s media consumption habits. To solve that problem, some manufacturers are beginning to experiment with foldable displays. Samsung plans to announce their foldable smartphone sometime next year, but they’ve already teased it barely a month ago. Now, it looks like OPPO is planning on launching their own smartphone with a foldable display.

OPPO’s product manager Chuck Wang told Tweakers that the company is planning to announce a foldable mobile device at Mobile World Congress 2019 which takes place at the end of February in Barcelona, Spain. Unfortunately, that’s all we know about the upcoming device—the specifications, software, release date, and pricing are all unknown. Most of the details will likely be announced at MWC. Mr. Wang also stated that OPPO has plans to release their first 5G-enabled smartphone by the first half of 2019. The exact model wasn’t disclosed, but the device will most likely be a part of the OPPO Find lineup. Lastly, Mr. Wang also revealed OPPO’s plans to produce a smartphone with a circular camera cutout on the screen by 2020. Although, OPPO wouldn’t be the first to the market with such a device as Huawei plans to release a smartphone with a display hole within the next few weeks, while Samsung allegedly plans a release for January of 2019.

OPPO has been at the forefront of innovative smartphones technologies with motorized sliders, SuperVOOC charging, and more. We are definitely interested in their take on the future of the smartphone. Heavy competition  will eventually lower the prices of these products so that we don’t have to pay $1,700 for bleeding edge technology.

Source: Tweakers Via: AndroidAuthority

Thursday, November 29, 2018

SwiftKey keyboard adds a button to search on Microsoft Bing

swiftkey bing

The ability to use 3rd-party keyboards is a quintessential Android feature. Over time, keyboard apps have evolved to become much more than just a way to input text. Swiftkey is easily one of the most popular keyboard apps out there, and now it can do web searches right from the keyboard with Bing.

It’s common nowadays for a keyboard app to have stickers, GIFs, emoji, app integration, and tons of other things. Google’s own Gboard app can do Google searches from anywhere. Swiftkey can now do searches too, but it uses Microsoft Bing. You may remember that Microsoft acquired Swiftkey a while ago. They haven’t infused too much Microsoft into the app, but Bing may be a disappointment to some users.

To use this feature, you can open the toolbar and select the Search icon. Type whatever you want into the text box. You’ll see results from Bing or it can take you to a specific webpage. The feature is rolling out to users in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Brazil, India, Italy, and Spain.

SwiftKey Keyboard (Free, Google Play) →

Source: Swiftkey

Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite kernel source code is now available

Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite

Xiaomi has been quite busy as this year begins to wrap up. The company has an event planned in New York next month, they just released the kernel source code for the Mi Mix 3, and now they have done the same for the Mi 8 Lite. The Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite is a less expensive variant of their regular Mi 8 lineup that was launched a couple of months ago. It comes with the Snapdragon 660 SoC, up to 6GB of RAM, and up to 128GB of internal storage. It’s an interesting mix of hardware components as many would consider it to be mid-range due to the SoC, but it has more RAM and internal storage than some $800+ smartphones.

Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite XDA Forum

Sometimes it takes Xiaomi a long time to release the kernel source code for a device they sell, but other times it can come rather hastily. Many would still consider 2 months too long to wait but those who are interested can now download the kernel source code for the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite.

Download Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite (“platina”) Kernel Source Code

[Download] Xiaomi Redmi 4A gets MIUI 10 Global Stable

The Xiaomi Redmi 4A belongs to Xiaomi’s fleet of low-end devices. After all, the phone itself is nothing to write home about, featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor with 2 GB of RAM and up to 32 GB of storage. With low specs also come low prices, of course, and the Redmi 4A’s initial asking price was hovering around the $100 mark. Despite its low-end specifications and its asking price, however, Xiaomi has shown that they’re committed to releasing updates, even for these devices. The Xiaomi Redmi 4A is now receiving an update to MIUI 10 on the Global Stable branch.

The update is based on Android 7.1 Nougat and weighs in at 1.3 GB: it’s very unlikely this device will be receiving an official update to Android Oreo or Android Pie. If you have this device, check out the update now!

Check out MIUI 10 for the Xiaomi Redmi 4A now!

Thanks to XDA Recognized Developer yshalsager for the download link!

Don’t Overlook the $250 Honor 8X

Last year the Honor 7X was one of the most popular unlocked phones being purchased throughout the holidays. With the Honor 8X being less then $250, we expect this phone will also be a popular pick among those shopping for gifts this year. We put together this video highlighting some of our favorite features of the Honor 8X.

Honor 8X Forums Honor 8X Website
We thank Honor for sponsoring this post. Our sponsors help us pay for the many costs associated with running XDA, including server costs, full time developers, news writers, and much more. While you might see sponsored content (which will always be labeled as such) alongside Portal content, the Portal team is in no way responsible for these posts. Sponsored content, advertising and XDA Depot are managed by a separate team entirely. XDA will never compromise its journalistic integrity by accepting money to write favorably about a company, or alter our opinions or views in any way. Our opinion cannot be bought.

HTC U11 Life is HTC’s first smartphone to get the Android Pie update

HTC U11 Life android pie

Google released the first stable version of Android Pie back in the first week of August. We’re getting close to the fourth month after its release and some companies are just now beginning to get the latest version of Android onto their devices. In fact, there are some who have begun selling devices in the last month or two that are shipping with Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box. HTC’s mobile division isn’t in the best position right now, but even they were able to beat some of these OEMs as the HTC U11 Life is now starting to receive its update to Android 9 Pie.

HTC U11 Life Forum

It’s quite interesting that the U11 Life is the first HTC smartphone to receive an update to Android Pie. We covered its launch last year right at the start of November and while it was sad to see it launch with Android Nougat, the device was quickly updated to Oreo. The HTC U11 Life is an Android One device so it actually makes sense that it’s the first in the U11 series to receive an update to Android Pie. However, we are surprised that it beat out the HTC U12+ (the company’s current flagship) as those are the device that tends to receive the most attention when it comes to major OTA updates.

We learned about HTC’s plans to update the HTC U11, HTC U11+, HTC U11 Life and the HTC U12+ to Android 9 Pie just a few months ago. They made this announcement in the form of a causal tweet and naturally didn’t give any details as to when we should expect any of these devices to receive the update. So many thought he U12+ would be the first on the chopping block. The thing is, it’s possible that they began working on Pie for the U12+ first but also started working on the other announced devices as well.

Since the HTC U11 Life is an Android One device it was quicker to complete and that has led us to today. We’re still keeping our ear to the ground for rumblings of additional Pie updates from HTC since this device receiving its update means that it opens up additional resources to the U11, U11+, and U12+.

HydrogenOS (Android Pie) public beta goes live for the OnePlus 5/5T

Android Pie Android 9 google pixel

Earlier this week it was just announced that OnePlus was looking for 100 closed beta testers for OxygenOS on the OnePlus 6T. The company does a closed beta test for their Chinese version of Android as well, HydrogenOS, and they recently began testing the Android Pie version of it on the OnePlus 5 and the OnePlus 5T. Incidentally, the HydrogenOS firmware was leaked for the OnePlus 5T which can actually still be installed on global versions of it. In fact, it can be installed on the global OnePlus 5 as well (but the fingerprint scanner doesn’t work). Whether the closed beta test was finished, or they just decided the cat was out of the bag anyway, OnePlus is now allowing the public to beta test the Android Pie version of HydrogenOS for the OnePlus 5 and the OnePlus 5T.

OnePlus 5 Forum

OnePlus 5 HydrogenOS Pie

With OnePlus being based in China, it makes sense for them to develop new versions of HydrogenOS first. Not only does it have support for fewer languages, but it also doesn’t come with the Google Play Store pre-installed. This allows them to bring up the code for the new update while also adding in some OnePlus specific features to the software. It also lets us monitor the company’s progress because if they are now beginning to public test the HydrogenOS version for the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T then the OxygenOS version isn’t that far behind.

OnePlus 5T Forum

OnePlus 5T HydrogenOS Pie

Naturally, we don’t have an ETA as to when we can expect the first public beta of OxygenOS for these two devices, but this does show that we are getting closer. Not only that, but we also get a full list of changes that have been made to the HydrogenOS public beta build. Once translated we can see the following changes:

System

  • Update to Android P version
  • Brand new UI design, more details, etc.
  • A new background control solution for a lighter and smoother experience
  • Android patch update to 2018.11

Communication

  • SMS verification code spreads the display, check the verification code one step faster
  • Optimize strange number recognition
  • Added the ability to set a default card for a single contact or group in dual card mode
  • Optimize the speed dial and call interface UI design
  • Emergency rescue UI optimization

Do Not Disturb Mode

  • More powerful do not disturb mode, do not disturb behavior and time are defined by you

OnePlus Weather

  • Positioning is accurate to the area
  • Improve the accuracy of weather data
  • Desktop widgets automatically switch cities based on targeting
  • Solve the problem of refresh failure after positioning change
  • Support fuzzy search when adding cities to solve the problem that some users cannot search for cities
Source: OnePlus

Google Assistant gets better list management, lyrics on Smart Displays, and Pretty Please

google assistant

Google wants you to know that your personal virtual assistant is there for you this holiday season. The Mountain View tech giant just published a blog post detailing a number of Google Assistant features that they’ve been working on which can enhance your holiday mood while also making things a bit more convenient as well. This list includes features such as musical lyrics on smart displays, teaching your kids to be polite with Pretty Please and Thank You prompts, better list management, and more.

First up we have the rollout of both Pretty Please and Thank you prompts to help teach and reinforce your children’s polite behavior. We have heard about this feature in the past, but with some kids focused on only getting new things for the holidays, this will help remind them to be polite and less demanding. Since Google I/O this year, we knew that the company had been working on revamping the list management feature for Google Assistant and last month the company finally began to roll this feature out to the public. Support will start with Google Keep, Any.do, Bring!, and Todoist.

Google Assistant

Google has integrated Nest Hello video doorbell with smart displays like the Google Home Hub so not only can you see who is at the door but they have also introduced a two-way talkback feature. Speaking of smart displays, Google Play Music subscribers can get the lyrics to some of their favorite songs. They will even sync the lyrics with the music right when the music begins. Pairing Google Home with Google Assistant also allows for you to read along with certain stories (supported list found here) while also enjoying sound effects and music.

There are a couple more things that Google is showing off in this latest blog post including the ability to let your child give Santa a call with the command “Hey Google, Call Santa.” Santa Claus is rehearsing for a musical concert (for one song) and this feature gives your child the ability to help him figure out the best way to play it. Last up we have a roundup of some features we talked about earlier this month. This includes the broadcast replies feature, a way to share photos using smart displays thanks to Google Photos, and touch alarms in the quick settings.

Source: Google

Some Google Pixel 3 & Pixel 2 users are now able to save Call Screen transcripts

Google Pixel 3 Call Screening

Call screening has been one of the most talked about features of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. The feature allows you to have Google Assistant answer calls and interact with the caller on your behalf. Call Screening recently rolled out to Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL users. Now, Google is adding a much-requested feature: transcripts.

When you answer a call with Call Screen, you simply select questions for Assistant to relay to the caller. You can watch the conversation happen on your screen in real-time. But as soon as the conversation is over, the text transcript is gone. Now, it’s possible to look back at those transcripts. According to a few users on Reddit, the feature is rolling out to Pixel 2 and Pixel 3 devices.

The screenshot above is from Reddit user Rjmiller416‘s Pixel 2 XL. The transcripts can be accessed in the Google Phone app by going to Recent calls > Call Details > See transcript. It seems to be a server-side switch as several users (myself included) report being on version 26 of the Phone app and the transcript option is not present.

Pixel 3 XDA Forum Pixel 2 XDA Forum

We’re glad to see this feature rolling out, but it should have been included from day one. Google was already transcribing the call into text on the screen during the conversation. It only seems natural to be able to look back at the transcript. Let us know if you see this feature on your Pixel. Have you used Call Screening yet?

Phone (Free, Google Play) →

Source: Reddit

Learn How to Integrate AI and the Google Cloud with This Bundle

It should come as little surprise that Google has become a leading force in cloud computing. As one of the world’s most formidable tech giants, Google was well-poised to take the reins of one of the industry’s most powerful data storage and transfer platforms.

But the Google Cloud is no ordinary cloud. It can be used to work with some of the leading AI and machine learning technologies on Earth, and the Google Cloud Mastery Bundle will show you how for just $39—90% off its usual price.

Having a solid understanding of how Google can be used to build some of today’s most important AI technologies is essential if you want to be competitive in the field. This bundle will teach you how to build smart and intuitive chat-bots (which lie at the center of online customer service and support centers), how to integrate the Google Cloud with TensorFlow and Deep Learning technologies in order to build powerful AI platforms, and more.

There are also two courses dedicated to helping you become both a Google-certified Cloud Architect and Data Engineer—through instruction that highlights the importance of neural networks, data organization, and online security.

Get the skills you need to work with some of today’s most exciting cloud and AI technologies with the Google Cloud Mastery Bundle for 90% off at just $39.

OnePlus 6T features Dirac’s Power Sound and HD Sound audio tuning

OnePlus 6T dirac

Dirac is a company that has popped up on our radar recently. They are a Swedish audio firm that specializes in sound optimizations. Their technology can already be found in some phones from Xiaomi, Oppo, Huawei, and OnePlus. Most recently we covered the announcement of Dirac technology in the OnePlus 6. It will come as no surprise that it’s present in the OnePlus 6T as well.

Like the OnePlus 6, the OnePlus 6T features two Dirac technologies: Power Sound and HD Sound. They are already present in the device.

Dirac Power Sound aims to give small speakers a more full-sized audio experience. Music sounds more natural even at high volumes. Bass is tighter and more powerful. Sound quality, in general, is improved for vocal, music, and video.

Dirac HD Sound attempts to fill in the gaps left by Power Sound by improving the earphone and speakers. It brings a more dynamic soundstage, more powerful bass, and improved clarity. HD Sound is tailored to the device measurements.

OnePlus 6T XDA Forum

OnePlus and Dirac have been partners since the OnePlus 2. The close collaboration between the companies resulted in a high-performance micro-speaker optimized for Dirac’s technology. They also worked with OnePlus on the Bullet earphones to improve the embedded speaker. A OnePlus representative said, “the Dirac-optimized audio experience continues to stand out as a key component of the best-in-class user experience for which we tirelessly strive.”

Learn more about Power Sound and HD Sound at the links below.

Dirac Power Sound Dirac HD Sound

Honor 8C with Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 launched in India for ₹11,999

The competition is really heating up in India’s budget and early mid-range segments. OEMs are spoiling and confusing the consumer for choice, as they continue releasing a wide variety of devices across often-overlapping price points. After releasing a new color variant for the Honor 8X in India, Huawei has now announced the Honor 8C, pitching it at a slightly lower price point.

Honor 8C — Specifications at a Glance

Category Huawei Honor 8C (BKK-AL10)
Dimensions 158.7 mm × 75.94 mm × 7.98 mm; 167g
Display 6.26″ HD+ (1520 x 720 pixels, 19:9) LCD, 269ppi
SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 632:
Kryo 250 semi-custom cores comprising of 4x Cortex-A73 @1.8GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @1.8GHz; 14nm FinFET process;Adreno 506
RAM and Storage 4GB RAM + 32GB storage;

4GB RAM + 64GB
Expandable Storage Yes; up to 256GB with dedicated microSD card slot
Rear Camera 13MP, f/1.8 + 2MP, f/2.4; LED Flash
Front Camera 8MP, f/2.0; LED Flash
Battery 4,000mAh
USB Port microUSB
3.5mm Headphone Jack Yes
Fingerprint Sensor Yes; Rear
SIM Dual; Dual 4G VoLTE
Android Version Android 8.1 Oreo underneath EMUI 8.2

Huawei chose to stick with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 SoC instead of its own Kirin SoC, which isn’t a bad thing as the Snapdragon 632 is the spiritual successor to the beloved Snapdragon 626, which in turn was known for its excellent efficiency. While you can get better CPU’s like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 and even 660 at close price ranges, Huawei seems to be focusing on efficiency rather than on pure performance with this smartphone. To put this into perspective, the Snapdragon 632 will only be responsible for a 6.26″ HD+ display (and not a FHD+ display, as seen in this price range), and will also be helped by the beefy 4,000mAh battery and EMUI’s questionably aggressive battery management. The entire combination may seem underpowered for users looking for a budget gaming device, but for average consumers, it means battery life for days. We would be entirely unsurprised if the Honor 8C manages to easily touch 2 days of regular usage.

The Honor 8C also packs in a decent camera setup. The camera hardware is complemented by the AI-backed camera app, allowing the Honor 8C to recognise over 500 scenarios in 22 different categories as per its own claims. There’s also an AI Shopping feature that detects objects in the scene and searches online for similar items using the built-in NPU. To add in more AI buzzwords, the front camera also has an AI Beautify feature.

Pricing and Availability

The Honor 8C will be available in Blue, Black, Gold and Purple colors. The device is priced at ₹11,999 ($172) for the 32GB variant and ₹12,999 ($186) for the 64GB variant. The Honor 8C will go on sale in the country exclusively through Amazon.in and HiHonor stores from December 10, 2018. For Reliance Jio uses, the Honor 8C also comes in with benefits worth ₹4,450 as well as 100GB additional data.

The Honor 8C does not exactly compete with the newly launched Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro, but starts treading on the price range with its higher specced variant. The market at this price range sees intense competition as competitors like Asus, Realme, Oppo, Vivo and more have their own set of offerings with better processors and better displays. The inclusion of a HD+ display on a 6.26″ device does not make sense to us, but for the average consumer, it will be difficult to immediately spot the shortcoming unless they have a FHD+ device side-by-side. Huawei is clearly targeting average consumers with poorer research skills, or users looking for an efficient powerhouse, as there are alternatives in the market that you can consider depending on your specific need.

Note: Huawei has stopped providing official bootloader unlock codes for its devices. Therefore, the bootloader of the Honor 8X cannot be unlocked, which means that users cannot flash Magisk/TWRP/custom ROMs.

Source: HiHonor Online Store

Nubia Red Magic Mars gaming phone launches with up to 10 GB RAM and shoulder buttons

ZTE’s Nubia sub-brand makes some interesting devices, though most of these quirky devices remain limited to China only. Recently, the company had launched the Nubia X, a device with dual displays and dual fingerprint sensors, but no front camera. And now, the company has launched the Nubia Red Magic Mars — a gaming phone with flagship level specifications, liquid and air cooling systems and shoulder buttons.

ZTE Nubia Red Magic Mars – Specifications at a Glance

Category ZTE Nubia Red Magic Mars
Dimensions and Weight 158.25 mm × 75 mm × 9.85mm; 193g
Display 6″ FHD+ (2160 x 1080 pixels; 18:9) In-Cell LCD display with 2.5D curved glass
SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 845: 64-bit Octa-core SoC, clocked at 2.8GHz;

Adreno 630 GPU
RAM and Storage 6GB (LPDDR4) RAM + 64GB (UFS 2.1) internal storage;

8GB + 128GB;

10GB + 256GB
Rear Camera 16MP, f/1.8 aperture, PDAF, dual-tone LED flash
Front Camera 8MP, f/2.0, wide-angle lens
Battery and Charging 3,800mAh with fast charging support
USB Port USB Type-C
SIM Dual SIM support
Fingerprint Sensor Rear
Android Version Android 9 Pie underneath Redmagic OS v1.6

The primary focus of the Nubia Red Magic Mars is gaming, which means that the phone packs in some impressive specifications, alongside a design that is meant to stand out from the crowd. Supporting this unique design are two Red Magic touch game buttons, meant to be used while gaming in landscape mode. While we don’t have clear information on how key mapping is implemented on the device, the existence of dedicated hardware buttons opens up the possibility of using them in the same manner as you would use the shoulder buttons on a game controller.

The device also features liquid cooling and air cooling systems in order to reduce the device temperature by up to 13°C and improve CPU performance by up to 70%. The phone also claims to offer “4D gaming experience” with real-time recognition of game scenes that vibrates the phone to match more than 40 game scenes. There’s also DTS 7.1 channel and 3D surround sound. Gaming experiences are incomplete without RGB’ing everything, so the device adds in a LED light strip on the metallic back, because why not.

Pricing and Availability

The Nubia Red Magic Mars comes in Black and Flame Red colors for the 6GB and 8GB variants, while the 10GB variant comes in a Camouflage color and design. The device is priced at CNY 2,699 (~$390; ₹27,500) for the 6GB variant, CNY 3,199 (~$460; ₹32,500) for the 8GB variant and CNY 3,999 (~$575; ₹40,500) for the 10GB variant. The device is available for pre-ordering in China, with sales scheduled to begin from December 7, 2018. There is currently no word on whether this device will make its way out of China. But seeing the trend of gaming phones on Android gathering decent momentum, we wouldn’t be surprised if this does make its way onto the global stage.

Story Via: Fonearena